UAE Prime Minister

Mohammed chairs cabinet meeting

UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired a meeting of the UAE Cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi today.

The meeting was held with the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

During the meeting the cabinet reviewed a number of issues, including a report on the performance indicators for ministries and government institutions during the year 2009. Earlier, Sheikh Mohammed had ordered that performance indicators be adopted to measure the functionality of these bodies and gauge their adoption of the federal strategy of governance.

Sheikh Mohammed announced that the report revealed that the Ministry of Public Works was the best performing ministry throughout 2009, with the Zayed Housing Programme distinguishing itself as the best performing enterprise in the evaluation. Minister of Public Works Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan was singled out for praise for leading both his ministry and the housing programme to perform with such merit. Sheikh Mohammed also commended all staff involved in bringing about this national achievement.

Moving on, the council of ministers adopted a budget of over Dh1.2 billion for the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme for the fiscal year 2010, after which they approved a study by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development about national behavior and characteristics. This initiative seeks to uphold values and conduct between successive generations of UAE citizens, while calling attention to traditional culture and practices that are part of the national identity.

The cabinet requested that this project be implemented under the National Action Plan, with many of the proposals to be rolled out through the media and education programmes, as well initiatives undertaken by government and private agencies. University students and the country's youth will be the focus of much of the project.

The cabinet also approved the appointment of the Minister of Labour as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority, also known as Tanmia. Following the minister's proposals, the cabinet will appoint 12 members to the board at a future date. Towards the meeting's close the cabinet ratified an agreement concerning between the UAE and the International Atomic Energy Agency.